BROCKENCOTE Hall in Chaddesley Corbett hosted a celebration of fine food, drink and music last weekend, at the annual ‘A Taste of Worcestershire’ Food and Jazz Festival.

The two-day event featured more than 60 food producers, growers and retailers from across the county and beyond, as well as top jazz artists.

The marquee in the Brockencote grounds was filled with the delicious aromas of local produce as some 1,500 visitors browsed the stalls and sampled everything from cheese, meat and bread to ice cream, waffles and fudge, plus real ales, ciders and gins.

There were hourly demonstrations from food experts on both days, including TV chef and author Alan Coxon who returned to the festival with his historic recipes.

Brockencote’s chefs offered tips on seafood, home curing and foraging, while Janice Bell showed how to bake homemade bread.

The jazz festival on Saturday evening was a sell-out, as music lovers braved a downpour to enjoy sophisticated grooves from the Ralph Allin Quartet, Sheila Waterfield Band, singer Wendy Austen and pianist Nick Blunn.

Exhibitor Lisa Jenkins, of Swift’s Bakery, Clee Hill, said: “We were really pleased with the steady of flow of visitors, and received lots of interest in our speciality breads.

“The whole festival seemed very well organised and we had a great couple of days.”

The event was organised by Shuttle owners Newsquest in conjunction with the hotel and Classic Marquees of Malvern.